The following advisory has been issued by the Health and Safety Executive
Portable appliance testing is NOT compulsory - are you wasting time and money?
Unnecessary portable appliance tests cost office-based businesses an estimated £30 million a year.
A common health and safety myth says that every portable electrical appliance in the workplace needs to be tested once a year. This means that low-risk businesses such as offices, shops and hotels often pay unnecessarily for over-the-top maintenance regimes.
The law simply requires an employer to ensure that their electrical equipment is maintained in order to prevent danger. It does not say how this should be done or how often. Employers should take a risk-based approach, considering the type of equipment and what it is being used for. If it is used regularly and moved a lot e.g. a floor cleaner or a kettle, testing (along with visual checks) can be an important part of an effective maintenance regime giving employers confidence that they are doing what is necessary to help them meet their legal duties. HSE provides guidance on how to maintain equipment including the use of PAT
Two former guidance leaflets (INDG236 and INDG237) have been combined and clarified and the new guidance can be found on HSE's website using the following link http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg236.pdf .
For further information and case studies visit our website at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/electricity/faq-portable-appliance-testing.htm
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Replies
Good post Phil, thanks for looking in to it.
We have just bought a PAT tester. It cost about £200. All you do is plug the appliance into the PAT tester and it instantly tells you if the item is faulty or not. Depends upon you business but we've got about 100 appiances to test, ranging from kettles to compressors, so its worth it for us to invest in a testing kit
I really thought PAT testing was compulsory so pleased to highlight it.
Richard Boyd said: